The present invention relates to novel prostacyclin derivatives, a process for their preparation and their use as medicinal agents.
Prostacyclin (PGI.sub.2), one of the primary factors in blood platelet aggregation, has a dilating effect on various blood vessels (Science 196: 1072) and thus can be considered an agent for lowering blood pressure. However, PGI.sub.2 does not exhibit the stability required for medicinal agents. Thus, the half-life of PGI.sub.2 at physiological pH values and at room temperature is merely a few minutes.
Moreover, G. L. Bundy et al, Tetrahedron Letters 1978: 1371 and DOS (German Unexamined Laid-Open Application) No. 2,826,096, disclose 9.alpha.,6-nitriloprostaglandins.